Good evening to all of you here and hello to all of you who will be listening by way of the internet. Today is April 18, 2016, our regular Monday night class. I thought Ii would mix it up a little bit today and talk about some of the basic training in Chan. And what kind of got me to this idea was an email I received from someone I do not know but who is a Chan practitioner and has gone to retreats at Dharma Drum in New York. And I want to read the discourse we had in terms of his questions to me and my responses to him. And I think these questions he raises are ones that many of us have. And some of the manner in which he’s looking at it is natural in terms of how people look at it and in some ways, just needs a little bit of fine-tuning in order to do it.

As you listen to this, you can see that this person is a serious student. And you can also see some of the places where he has problems. And part of the problem is just that he just doesn’t have a local well-knowing advisor to help him. So we’ll start with that. And this is not something to belittle this person, or to do anything to hold him up in a bad light. He’s just simply a practitioner with questions. I don’t want this to be something that would bring ridicule upon him or to hold him in some kind of bad light. It’s not like that at all. It’s just simply that he’s a good enough Bodhisattva to have offered these questions that I can share with you. So he starts;

“I hope you don’t mind me emailing you out of the blue to seek guidance on Dharma practice. We have never met in person though I have been in Pine Bush a few times in the past. (That’s the retreat center in upstate New York)Now that I have two super-young kids, it’s not possible for me to attend retreats. I have questions on the practice, and have not been able to find an advisor who has openly welcomed questions on the practice, outside of retreats that is. I’m really grateful to come across your site and your welcoming others to connect to you.”

One of the things that is very difficult is that many people who are Dharma presenters...they really find it difficult to take the time to respond to people because quite frankly, it does take a lot of time. I mean a lot! And sometimes to some of the questions that people have, depending on their level...I might respond in a word, or I might respond in a line but I don’t respond lengthily. There are times when I’ll give a lengthy response to somebody, depending on their ability to understand and their need in terms of that and the sincerity of the question. Intellectual questions, I don’t welcome but I try to respond as much as I can. But not everyone is that, let’s say, free with their time to be able to do that. So that’s what he’s encountering is that he’s asking questions and people aren’t responding back. He goes,

“Will it be fine if I pose questions and seek guidance from you? They are largely related to social dynamics at work and how to view things in order to have a more peaceful mind.”

So then I send him what I will call a probing question back, and a story. To see if he understands what my response is. And so my response to him was:

“The student asks the master, “What is the Way?” And the master replied, “Ask me a question.”

What do you think that means to him?

Student: (Inaudible)

Gilbert: Ok engagement in the present moment. Anyone else? Nobody else. OK. When the student asks the master, “What is the Way?” The master replies, “Ask me a question.” This is the function of Chan. So for this master, his function is that if someone asks him a question, he responds to it. So what I’m saying to him? “Ask your question.” This is our way. This is Chan, is that if you have a question, we have time to answer that question for you. That’s just the way it is.

And he had said before (his last line was) “how to view things in order to have a more peaceful mind.” So I added at the end, “By the way, who took your peaceful mind?” So he’s looking for a peaceful mind, and I’m posing a question, “Who took it? Who took his peaceful mind? Where is this peaceful mind that he has?” And so he should be looking at things in this way. “Who took my peaceful mind? Where is it? What is the peaceful mind?” So that he needs to begin to define “What is the peaceful mind?” What is mind to begin with, much less a peaceful mind? And mind—isn’t it by its nature peaceful? By its nature it wants to be settled. So, it’s kind of like adding a cherry on top of the sundae. The mind is just peaceful...it’s just that way. It’s liberated. So it’s now giving him an opening to be able to see clearly, but also telling him “Ask the question.” And so he asks his question. And he begins:

“This is the change I have made at work. I would appreciate it if you could let me know if I should make any adjustments. I reduced speech to only what is necessary and important. I don’t offer my opinion or jump into conversations unless someone specifically asks me for my opinion.”

So at this point you have to think: What do you think of his condition at work? What would you say?

Students answer: Quiet? Restrained?

Gilbert: OK. So very quiet and restrained. Anything else? So he says, “I reduced speech to only what is necessary and important. I don’t offer my opinion or jump into conversations unless someone specifically asks me for my opinion.” What do you think?

Student: It seems like he is resisting following function, possibly. Because there might be times when joking with people would be creating a more harmonious environment.”

Gilbert: OK so let’s see. Anybody else want to venture in? There will be plenty of opportunity.

Student: He’s probably feeling hurt.

Gilbert: Hurt?

Student: Yeah that he has to make a change like this.

Gilbert: OK we’ll continue on and see how that works.

“I’m surrounded by men who thrive on gossip, and this common trait helps bond them together. [Men gossiping? Come on!] They are exclusive and help each other get ahead. They have no qualms to speak ill of others while recommending those in the circle to management. Recently one of them was promoted ahead of me and it appears that history is likely to repeat itself again. My boss often creates a competitive situation by giving the same task to two or three people and his subordinates would fight it out for control and power to prove their abilities to him. Those junior to me fight for full control of the projects, and I’m not sure my decision not to fight back would hurt my position or mobility in the future. My boss would also discriminate as to who he would teach and guide. When I think that others could move forward while I could be stagnate in my position, I am concerned. I put on my headset at work to tune out the gossip. I listen to Dharma talks.”

“My coworker has advised me that I listen in on what the small circle is talking about and join in the chat. From a social standpoint, this seems like sensible advice. From a practice perspective, I’m not so sure. I don’t want to fill my mind with more nonsense which will make me more confused and set my mind to start spinning and strategizing. I might have interpreted the practice incorrectly as I think that sometimes others might think that I’m unfriendly, not joining in the idle talk. And unhelpful, not offering opinions when asked. I sometimes wonder if I should not listen to the Dharma talk and tune in to the conversations around me and somehow use that as a practice of non-rejecting. I sometimes think about seeking a new position, but at the same time, I thought to myself, if I keep running away from ugly emotional situations, I’ll never be closer to seeing the truth. How shall I let go of greed, and therefore jealousy? How shall I go about accepting that others do not want me to move up in the organization? Another silly question is how do I know when my conditions with these people end? Do I find out by seeking another position somewhere else? If I do that then I am running away from what I dislike. The loop goes on and on. And I’m back to this thinking mind. And the thinking mind can’t break out. No one took my peaceful mind. It is covered with greed and desire.”

So this is kind of what I would call a typical letter I guess. Very regular basis. So they all take time to respond to, and one has to respond in a very careful way. Anybody want to weigh in as to what advice you would give him? Nobody? Go ahead.

Student: To try to harmonize with his co-workers. Find harmony. Possibly joining in the idle chatter or not being as competitive.

Gilbert: OK. Anything else?

Student: It’s an interesting idea as far as seeking another position. Like that that might lead to more harmony. I’m not sure what the answer is. I have thoughts like that myself.

Gilbert: OK. Anyone else.

Sentha: I would say that seeking another position is not a bad thing. Because I feel that one of my requirements for my workplace is that it doesn’t interfere with my practice. So that’s important for me. That I am able to practice. I wouldn’t want to be in a place where I cannot practice.

Gilbert: If you were in his shoes, would you still be able to practice?

Sentha: Yes!

Gilbert: How’s that?

Sentha: Because, you know, there’s a bit of confusion here. The one thing I would tell this person is that, yes, you should practice. But don’t assume that practice is going to lead to a promotion. So let there be no confusion between a benefit you’re yearning for. He wants to be recognized at work. So, I can understand that. However, don’t let there be any doubt as to practice being a stepping stone to promotion.

Gilbert: What about him putting on his headset and listening to the Dharma?

Sentha: That feels like it’s running away a little bit. That’s what it feels like. If that’s the only way he can stop from doing something negative, then that’s protection. However, if it is stopping him from engaging with his co-workers, then that might be running away.

Gilbert: OK.

Student: I think that perhaps if he feels uncomfortable, that’s why he’s wearing his headset, but this is also an opportunity for him to be a good example in his practice. Just as an example, not pushing. But just as an example of the way.

Gilbert: OK. Do you want to say something?

Student: He’s just seemed very passive in his behavior. He’s discussing other people’s behavior around him. But he seems disconnected. There are ways he can be part of that culture, but in a positive way. He doesn’t seem to try and do that at all. Instead he’s trying to seek himself as an out, and that doesn’t seem very helpful. Especially because it seems like a very competitive environment. Part of the idea is that competition breeds people who are very good at what they do, and he’s again just ignoring that process. Instead of embracing it and being part of it in a beautiful way and bringing his positive stuff to it, he’s ignoring it.

Gilbert: Sentha wants to add some more

Sentha: Early on in my career what happened was I was asked to work with another coworker on a project. What that coworker did was he saw it as an opportunity to impress the director. Because the director gave us both that project. So he said you work on one version of the project and you work on the other and we’ll see who gets chosen. So he made it into a competition. And he was in a point in his life where he could work lots of hours. I was not. I don’t care. I’ll do my best. So he made it into a competition; it doesn’t mean I have to take that same framing. And he got done early. I was a little bit later. But the result doesn’t matter, but the director liked my work better. [Laughs…] Not that that matters. It was a really important thing for me to say “I will not accept that framing.” You do not have to accept that framing that it’s a competition. You can do your job and let’s just say it will speak for itself.

Gilbert: Yeah. There’s a program on TV called “The Voice”. They’re trying to find the best voice in a group of people. And one part of it is that two people are head-to-head on the same song and alternating singing verses in the same song. And the ones that do the best are the ones that do the best with the person they’re in competition with. And they find a way to rise up...both of them rising up to a much higher level because of that. Rather than running away from that competition, just embracing it and realizing this is helping where you find different ways to be able to do that.

And whoever wins of course they’re going to be happier than ones who lose, but I’ve seen the people when they do that. And they have a thing where you can be saved or picked by one of the other coaches. And when that happens and they raise themselves up they’re both rewarded. One of them is picked up by the coaches. And it’s this kind of a thing where you take it to another level rather than looking at it as a win or lose type of situation. Of course there’s people who like to pit others against each other in a very poor way of management. You know, just trying to simply find out who’s the bigger dog. That’s unfortunate for them because there can be a bigger dog that’s bigger than them who’s going to eat them at some point. But the idea here is this. What we’re talking about here is Chan. Every day. And if it’s not relevant to your daily life, then it’s not useful. And you have to make Chan relevant to your daily life.

So I’ll give you my response. I’m sure it’s things you were thinking about. But there is also an art in the response, in terms of how we do this. It’s not just something you just say. Sometimes it’s very spontaneous, and it might be something very quick that you just say to the person. But it requires a very special person to have a one or two word response to them or a one-line response. Here, because of what he’s going through, it requires a lot more attention and care and love in terms of this method. In terms of addressing the issues there, so that he can see, but also getting him to turn his head a little bit. To kind of look at things from a different viewpoint.

So here we go;

“Shifu used to say, “If you find yourself on a pirate ship. Be a pirate.”

I love that. I absolutely loved that when he said it because I knew what he meant. It didn’t mean that you had to be a cutthroat. It’s just you’re ON this pirate ship and you have to be a pirate.

“Contemplate that very carefully what that means.”

So I’m not telling him, “Hey you just have to go and be a gossiper. But you’re on the pirate ship. You’re part of the crew. You’re part of everything that makes that ship go from one point to another and whatever’s happening.”

“It is said that one who seeks to go to the woods to find peace will be bothered by the stream, chirping birds, and wind in the trees”.

So he’s wondering whether he should go to another job, but he’s going to find the same thing there. So this pirate ship is as good as any other pirate ship.

“As Chan practitioners, we do not chase away discriminations as these will only cause other discriminations to arise. Reread your letter. Then see yourself as others see you.”

How do others see him? What do you think?

Students: Grumpy? Stuck up?

Gilbert: Grumpy? Stuck up? Anybody else?

Students: Isolated and strange? Judgmental?

Gilbert: Isolated and strange? Judgmental? That’s probably a pretty good one—all of these are kind of components are what you just said. You got to the point of this judgmental side of it. There are discriminations on his side. He’s looking at it and seeing it from this viewpoint. And that’s the way people are looking at him. Where he’s looking at it like, “Hmm. They’re judging me.” No. You’re judging them and as a result of it, this is what comes from it. So I said:

“Well then, see yourself as others see you: An ostrich with its head in the sand. [With earphones by the way.]We should follow function. That is when we are at work we do our best to do a good job. Your job requires communication with other staff members. You need to talk to the pirates. Our school’s goal is to uplift humanity to create a Pure Land on earth. We are Mahayanists, vowing to deliver innumerable sentient beings. I assure you that your headphones are getting in the way. Even if you’re listening to Dharma talks like a cold stone in a cold pool of water.”

So I’m being a little bit stiff with him here. But he needs to see this. Take those darn headphones off. Nothing wrong with listening to the Dharma, but you can’t sanctify yourself by putting that on and then saying, “this is better than communication.” Remember what I say, that we’re creating a Pure Land on earth. That we are uplifting humanity. But he’s going into a default mode of non-action. And he’s not Mahayanist at this point because it’s of no concern to him about the people in the room, except for the fact that they’re bothering him. And again I don’t mean this in a bad way towards him, because we all get into this. Do you want to say something?

Sentha: He’s trying renunciation, if you will. That’s why you’re saying it’s not the Mahayana family. Which is the Hinayana [Theravada] or the first vehicle, and that is just to remove yourself from family and society and go off into the jungle.

Gilbert: Live off the cell. And here with Mahayanists we’re looking for the good of humanity—to uplift humanity to try and do the things. So what I’m doing is laying down a bit of a groundwork for things I’m going to say later. Do you want to say something?

Student: So I understand that one of the fundamental principles is this movement toward harmony. If you identify or perceive or observe something that needs to change...something that is beneficial to humanity to change, or even the people in the room to change, then harmony seems to be the wrong choice. It almost seems that to disrupt the flow is the better choice, is in the end the more harmonious choice, but I don’t know.

Gilbert: OK we’ll see where it goes.

“It would be better to communicate with your coworkers. Do not judge them lest you be judged. If unwholesome talk arises, steer clear of such talk and change the conversation to a better topic. We are in a sea of illusion. Even the Dharma is illusion, and there is no sacredness to it. It is better to use your natural and innate wisdom to see through all illusion and carry out your vows.”

So you see what we’re going through here...saying that all this is an illusion. And even the Dharma (the teachings) is an illusion. So if you’re sitting there with a headset on, thinking that this is going to turbocharge your enlightenment, it’s not going to happen that way. It won’t. Because you’re missing it. It’s outside those headsets. And you have to see through all of that. You have to see through your own illusion; illusion that you’re there to become enlightened. Clinging to sacredness will only result in discriminations. How can you fulfill your vow to deliver innumerable sentient beings when you’ve already given up on your coworkers? This is Chan. So what I’m doing is I’m going back to the basics of Chan to say to him: “Retool here. If you retool/regroup, go back in there, with this kind of an idea, and then it will change what happens.”

Sentha: I’m reminded of that example of if you’ve stepped into leech-infested waters, the best way to deal with it is to rub some sand on your legs, and the leeches will just fall off. So, Chan is like that in that no matter what the situation is, with your vow, these things don’t bother you anymore. And what happens is that you may bring out the best in the people around you.

Gilbert: Why don’t they matter anymore?

Sentha: Because—who’s there to be heard? Who’s there to lose? There is no one solution.

Gilbert: So when we see it this way we don’t cling to the idea of the self. So even though we make a vow to deliver sentient beings, we’re delivering sentient beings of illusion. And we’re clear about that. So what I’m doing is tweaking his understanding of the Dharma. Kind of like a tuning fork. Hummmmm. I’m touching him with that tuning fork to retune the way that he’s looking at it. And so with that you kind of shake him, but you also give him love. And it’s all love, what you’re doing. Go ahead. I’m glad this is bearing such conversation. This is good.

Student: Although what you’re saying is important to tweak his understanding of the Dharma, it seems to me what’s even more important is that that you’re giving him acceptance and wisdom that’s beyond words which he doesn’t even have for himself. And somehow there’s something behind the words...the acceptance behind the words... that’s even more important than anything you’re saying to tweak his understanding of the Dharma.

Gilbert: Quite so. To continue on, and this will be in response to Sentha’s comments.

“Do you think Tsi Tsan Pusa the Earth-Store Bodhisattva that went to hell to try to deliver the mom, or Kwan Yin bodhisattva who has great compassion? Do you think that Tsi Tsan Pusa is fouled by the environment in hell, or Kwan Yin on earth? Convert every moment to wisdom.”

And that’s what you were saying too Stan. The two of you were saying this. That there’s something beyond that. You know, that you have to work on it from this viewpoint. To contemplate rather than cogitate, rather than think about it, and then one can experience that—kind of a freedom from discrimination, vexation. A liberation. And create a Pure Land here, and uplifting the humanity of the people to have them stop gossiping and show them a better way of communication. Not by going “You’re going to hell, you’re going to hell, you’re going to hell!” But just saying “Hey, this is a hell I created for myself. I gotta get out of it.”

Convert every moment to wisdom. Know pratītyasamutpāda is at work all the time, impeccably so. Pratītyasamutpādais causes and conditions never fail. Never fail. It’s impeccable. So whatever happens, there are always resultant conditions from causes that have happened before. Not a single cause, but many causes. And as one looks at those conditions, they can see the cause from where those conditions came. And they might not be able to see them all, but they begin to use their wisdom to see these things. So if you’re Tsi Tsan Pusa and you’re in hell and you see the hell-dwellers, or the ones that are punishing them, then you would see that clearly that this is a result of what they have done before. That they’ve brought this on themselves. And you see clearly and you have compassion for them. If you can have compassion for your co-workers in this way, then you’re not too far from it. But if you try to ignore it and shield yourself from them by playing the Dharma, it’s so sad. It’s very, very sad. Very pitiable. But once attuned to it, he can change. And because he’s a good practitioner, he can change. He just has to have that ability to burst through those illusions. So we continue on.

“Polishing consciousness is like trying to polish a cloud. Does not the illumination of the moon reach all of the clouds and illuminate them equally?”

So what I’m telling him is switch it. Don’t try to polish a cloud. Don’t try to polish yourself and expect for enlightenment. It’s not going to work that way. All you have to do is come to this realization that everything is illuminated in mind, equally, in accordance with causes and conditions. That’s important. That’s important. In your daily life that’s very, very important. Go ahead.

Sentha: I think that needs a bit more explanation. Because it’s very hard for new students to grasp that.

Gilbert: Of course. Of course. It is very hard. The thing is that because he’s a good student, I will expect him to look it up and to do that. So I don’t leave him hanging completely. OK.

“See your co-workers in the same light, possessing the same Buddha light, just waiting for someone to help draw it out. Do not expect miracles. But if you give up, you get precisely what you put in: A failed relationship. In the manner in which you are going, in your next lifetime, as you have in your past lifetimes, you will encounter these same coworkers again. Why worry about seeing them, or finishing your karma?”

….Because he was talking about, you know, when is his karma going to run out with these people? And I say:

“Why worry about finishing your karma? You should have the function of connecting with them over and over again in order to fulfill your vows. What is your vow? I vow to deliver innumerable sentient beings. Each moment presents an opportunity to do just that. The thinking mind will never break out as it’s just arising consciousness driven by habit energy. This is not you.”

So he was talking about this thinking mind which is—he’s really referring to consciousness and I’m saying, “This not you.”

Because this is something that he has to play with, like a Rubik’s cube, until he understands it. Because you’re right, he’s not going to be able to appreciate it, given the benefit of how many lectures you’ve heard me talk about that. He’s not going to be able to do that, because he just hasn’t had a well-knowing advisor. But he has to work with this, and he has to get the lesson, and then work on the lesson. And just keep working it and working it.

When I used to practice Kung Fu, I had one teacher, I’d go early in the morning to his house, oftentimes waking him up. And he’d come outside, and he’d go “Do this.” And he’d give me something to do. And then he’d go back in the house, probably to sleep. And then come back like 45 minutes or an hour later, “What did you feel from it?” So, how many times had I done that movement while he was gone? But I did it. And I’d say, “This comes from it.” He said, “Precisely! That’s what comes with it.” Because I was able to get better and keep looking at it and looking at it. He gave me that for a reason. Not just to go back to bed. So it’s in this way where we have to work that and do that. That‘s why I say never forget this because when you get it you pass it on to others and they say, “I see how this works.” I said:

“Better to put your search where thoughts arise. Time to become a true practitioner.”

So now I’m telling him: “This is the time,” OK. What is this all called, what I’m talking about? Nobody knows? The right view. This is the right view. How mind works. How things go. How we use our Mahayana practice to do this. And all of that converts into this incredible wisdom, which then ultimately converts into a transcendental wisdom. Yeah?

Sentha: Turning adversity into felicity, as practice. You know, you were saying why do you want to turn away from them, even in future life? What is conventionally seen as adversity, to a practitioner becomes felicity.

Gilbert: Yeah. And the thing is is what we do is simply follow function. And then function just does it. Because as we’re going through and you have this Dharma joy, then the Dharma joy, if you’re following the jhanas, goes into equanimity. And so when you get into this state of equanimity, everything is seen as it is just perfectly in its place, with no inflow or outflow. Just understood as how it is appearing in mind. And knowing that everything that you’re seeing has a cause that puts it forth in that moment. So then he responds back. [Aside] I thought this was gonna take 15 minutes. He goes:

“Thank you for taking the time to give me pointers. I agree with what you wrote, as it’s kind of how I felt too. I would like to paraphrase your guidance here, if you don’t mind, to make sure my understanding is accurate. The pirate analogy, discrimination and judging topics all indicate there’s a strong sense of self. As long as one judges and discriminates, one feels one is superior or inferior to others.”

And that’s true too. A strong sense of self can be a low self-esteem.

“...And different from others. Being a pirate is similar to the sixth patriarch working with hunters. Along the same lines, when one feels righteous or sacred, one becomes dualistic and can act heedlessly based on one’s principle of what is right or wrong. And what is right or wrong is all created by the mind. It is based on how one has been programmed and conditioned in life, and therefore cannot be trusted. Examples of the practice in real-life situations: If one heard idle chatter, and thinking mind kicks into action, one should immediately ignore the thinking and immediately focus on reciting Amitofo or counting the breath or observing the breath. If one were being treated unfairly and realizes the mind starts thinking and analyzing, one should then ignore/abandon thinking and return to reciting Amitofo. If the thinking mind is ignored, eventually the thinking mind will stop. The thinking mind should be ignored because it is not permanent. Not me, has no self, constantly changing. Arising and passing away, and therefore cannot be trusted.”

Here, well there’s a few things that I would differ with him. When he says “cannot be trusted,” I differ with him greatly. Why do I say you can trust this thinking mind?

Student: (muffled)

Gilbert: And you said it’s arising from causes and conditions—what do we know about causes and conditions?

Student: (muffled)

Gilbert: They never fail. So you can trust. If you discriminate, discrimination will come out of it. So in this way when you say “can’t be trusted,” it’s the difference in what Stan was talking about. The viewpoint. It’s turning the mind’s eye inward. In turning the mind’s eye inward, it sees all these things arising and sees they’re arising precisely for a reason. We need not have to throw them out. We just have to shine illumination on them and understand that they’re arising from a particular cause, and then we’re clear about it. Because once we know that we know how to change that. Not from any kind of a book learning, but from this transcendental understanding of it and using this wisdom to be able to convert these things, into the proper coin of the realm, which is this wisdom. That enables us to do, through body, speech and mind, what’s necessary to harmonize with that situation, even if it’s having to not engage in that if it becomes a very bad conversation—not making it worse. So we continue on.

Sentha: I want to say that in this place, reciting the Amitabha’s name seems like a bad date.

Gilbert: Yeah. It’s kind of like, what you were saying earlier. And Matt was saying, you were just kind of hiding with all of this stuff. You’re not really engaging at all.

Student: It doesn’t follow function

Gilbert: Then it doesn’t follow function. It’s like you’re saying “sulu.” Sulu is like a Sanskrit word for like protection. Like a “Get away from me” type of thing. But we don’t use it in this way. If I was in that situation and I’m reciting—I often recite! I see somebody and I see a condition they have. Maybe they’re ill or crippled. Maybe they’re retarded. Maybe they have a demon in them or whatever it is. And I often recite. Not for my protection but for the transfer of merit to them. Then it’s working in the right way. So then we continue.

“At work one should focus only on the task at hand. When one walks away from one’s desk, then return to reciting Amitofo.”

Amitofo is something where we say respect to the Buddha, but we should respect the Buddha in our body, speech, and mind. We should reflect that in what we’re doing. Not just in the lip service, but to exemplify the Buddha mind which runs through all of us. We just have to bring it out.

“Searching for another position we’d refute since it’s rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. A more meaningful use of time would be to work towards seeing the truth. Once the truth is glimpsed everything is a good place. There won’t be problems. If the truth is not seen wherever one goes, it is bound to be afflicted by one’s environment. Here, this is polishing the clouds. There is no self to be polished. No self to see the truth. The self-nature of mind is evident. When one follows function, one follows their vows, one is in harmony and at one with that truth. There is no necessity to see it. There’s no one to see it from that viewpoint. It just acts as mind. And in this way it acts with metta and karuna (loving-kindness and this vow to deliver sentient beings).”

And then he said,

“What is pratītyasamutpāda? I couldn’t find the meaning of it in Google.”

Hopefully he’ll find it. It’s probably my spelling or whatever. Sometimes it’s known as paticcasamuppada, which is the Pali version.

“I don’t get the meaning of sages return consciousness to mind, fools turn mind into consciousness.”

Which is what you were saying. And that’s why I said to him: Don’t forget this. Keep working on it.

“And I think maybe it’s because I’m not clear on the difference between mind and consciousness. Is there any other way to explain it? Thank you. How do I go about putting a search to where thoughts arise?”

So very interesting. How do you go about putting a search, just looking from there? From the idea of looking into mind and using right view. So anyway, I responded back. I was running out of time by this point, but I said;

“Causes and conditions never fail. I use the Sanskrit word. In Pali it’s paticcasamuppada. Mind is king. Consciousness is like cloud formations. If this is not realized, then Chan cannot be entered. Intelligent understanding is useless. One must practice. Thinking is not bad. Akusala thinking is.”

And I threw a word in there so he can Google that one. And then he’ll play with kusala, not-kusala. So I didn’t give him a definition of that because I know he’s going to look it up. Akusala means when a thought arises, you grasp onto it and you keep adding more thoughts to it. Like a sticky thought. That’s a good way of saying it. Is it’s like a sticky thought. So he keeps attaching more stuff to it. Where kusala is just what I’m using at this time to give this lecture which is what I’m using at this time to give this lecture which is: There are thoughts arising...many many thoughts arising arising, arising, but in fact nothing is arising because nothing is being stuck onto.

So akusala thought would be “Oh Gilbert! You’re really doing a good lecture today.” Then the next thought would be, “Who was at my lecture?” Because all the sudden, self arises and you have all these sticky thoughts, and the natural flow of the lecture is lost because of that. And the mind becomes very muddled and dark. So I say, thoughts arise all the time. We just don’t let them stick to mind. So this is the thing. I’m giving him the right view and giving him enough for him to kind of work on and start munching on that sugar cane. And if he munches long enough, it will get very sweet for him. Any last questions? Comments? OK we’ll take our break. I went a lot longer than I thought I was gonna go.